Space life

The Milky Way is pictured above Earth’s atmospheric glow as the station orbited above the island nation of Vanuatu in the Pacific Ocean. The Expedition 67 crew opened up BEAM, the International Space Station ’s expandable module, today and conducted sensor checks and organized hardware. The orbital residents also continued their space botany and automated robotics research as well as ongoing cargo operations. NASA Flight Engineers Jessica Watkins and Bob Hines partnered together inside the BEAM module today for systems checks after six years attached to the station’s Tranquility module. Watkins opened up BEAM on Friday morning then replaced batteries inside sensors that can detect impacts on the module. Hines retrieved cargo and cleaned vents inside BEAM. Watkins started her day servicing laptop computers and replacing ethernet cables throughout the station’s U.S. and Russian modules. Hines worked in the Columbus laboratory module recirculating fluids and nourishing radishes ...

Expedition 67 astronauts (clockwise from bottom) Samantha Cristoforetti, Bob Hines, Kjell Lindgren, and Jessica Watkins, smile for a portrait from inside the Boeing Starliner vehicle on May 24, 2022. The Expedition 67 crew spent Thursday servicing a variety of advanced space biology and human research hardware to learn how different organisms adapt to long-term microgravity. NASA Flight Engineer Kjell Lindgren kicked off Thursday morning swapping centrifuges inside the Kibo laboratory module ’s Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF) . The CBEF is an incubator that can house cells and plants while generating artificial gravity between 0.1 and 2.0 G during gravity contrast experiments. The life science research device is part of the Saibo Experiment Rack that houses science, power, and data transmission facilities. NASA Flight Engineers Bob Hines and Jessica Watkins worked throughout Thursday on cargo operations inside the Cygnus space freighter ahead of its departure targete...

Expedition 67 crew members pose with fresh fruit flying weightlessly in microgravity delivered recently aboard the Progress 81 cargo craft Wednesday saw daylong automated robotics activities as the crew tested advanced attire while working aboard the International Space Station . The Expedition 67 crew also ensured communications and life support systems continued operating in tip-top shape today. The Kibo laboratory module from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is the site of a pair of robotics free-flyers, known as Astrobees , autonomously navigating and performing maneuvering techniques today. NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins cleared Kibo of obstacles in the morning then activated the Astrobees for a day full of automated robotics operations. The toaster-sized, cube-shaped devices are using uplinked command algorithms while downlinking video so scientists can monitor their automated abilities in real-time from the ground. Researchers are testing the robotic assista...

The waxing crescent Moon is pictured above Earth’s atmosphere illuminated by an orbital sunset as the International Space Station flew 258 miles above the Atlantic Ocean. A variety of research operations were on the schedule for the Expedition 67 crew today including hearing checks, radiation protection, and space botany. The four astronauts and three cosmonauts also focused on cargo operations and International Space Station maintenance throughout the day. NASA and SpaceX now are targeting no earlier than June 28 for the launch of the cargo Dragon spacecraft flight, designated CRS-25, to the International Space Station, pending variables, including availability on the Eastern Range and space station scheduling. The joint teams  stood down from a launch attempt  this week after elevated vapor readings were measured during propellant loading of the Dragon. Flight Engineers Samantha Cristoforetti of ESA (European Space Agency) and Kjell Lindgren of NASA took turns ...

A portion of the SpaceX Cargo Dragon vehicle is pictured as the space station orbited above northern France in September of 2021. NASA and SpaceX are standing down from this week’s Falcon 9 launch of the CRS-25 cargo mission to the International Space Station . Officials from NASA and SpaceX met today to discuss an issue identified over the weekend and the best path forward. During propellant loading of the Dragon spacecraft, elevated vapor readings of mono-methyl hydrazine (MMH) were measured in an isolated region of the Draco thruster propulsion system. The propellant and oxidizer have been offloaded from that region to support further inspections and testing. Once the exact source of the elevated readings is identified and cause is determined, the joint NASA and SpaceX teams will determine and announce a new target launch date. In the meantime, Flight Engineers Jessica Watkins of NASA and Samantha Cristoforetti of ESA (European Space Agency) are getting up ...

Five spaceships are parked at the space station including the SpaceX Dragon Freedom; the Cygnus space freighter; the Soyuz MS-21 crew ship; and the Progress 80 and 81 resupply ships. An uncrewed Russian Progress 81 spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station ’s Zvezda service module at 9:02 a.m. EDT, two orbits after launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Progress is delivering almost three tons of food, fuel and supplies to the International Space Station for the Expedition 67 crew. Learn more about station activities by following the  space station blog ,  @space_station  and  @ISS_Research  on Twitter, as well as the  ISS Facebook  and  ISS Instagram  accounts. Get weekly video highlights at:  http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/ Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here:  www.nasa.gov/subscribe from Space Station https://ift.tt/Eb94gmM

The Progress 76 resupply ship approaches the space station for a docking in July of 2020. NASA Television, the agency’s website and the NASA app now are providing live coverage of the docking of a Russian cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station . The uncrewed Russian Progress 81 launched on a Soyuz rocket at 5:32 a.m. EDT (2:32 p.m. Baikonur time) Friday, June 3, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Learn more about station activities by following the  space station blog ,  @space_station  and  @ISS_Research  on Twitter, as well as the  ISS Facebook  and  ISS Instagram  accounts. Get weekly video highlights at:  http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/ Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here:  www.nasa.gov/subscribe from Space Station https://ift.tt/irepkXE